


james & lily’s guide to (un)successfully hiding your love life from your friends

by arkstat, leiaooorgana



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Secret Relationship, bisexual! lily, cheerleader! lily, desi! james, football player! james, its our emotional support fluff fic okay, we're all dealing with rona differently
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:35:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23509240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arkstat/pseuds/arkstat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/leiaooorgana/pseuds/leiaooorgana
Summary: Mary is psychic, Marlene is a player, Sirius works at Trader Joe's, Remus gets drunk, and Peter runs a small business. Oh, and Lily and James fall in love. But you already knew that.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	james & lily’s guide to (un)successfully hiding your love life from your friends

**Author's Note:**

> A product of my and V's nostalgia for a high school experience we never had and our unexpected free time due to Miss Rona. We make no promises as to the consistency of updates—we're just college students trying our best.

_Something’s missing._

James popped the glove compartment open and rummaged around until— _yes_ —he found the sunglasses that Sirius had left in his car that one time. He glanced in his rearview mirror and put them on. Perfect, now he was unrecognizable. With a cursory check around the parking lot for stray students, James left his car.

James entered the theater properly disguised in all black, hoodie on. Careful to ensure the door did not slam, he proceeded to slip into the back row, behind a giraffe-like person with way too much perfume. There were only about twenty people attending the match; family members excited to be there and extended family members forced to come were scattered about the theater. On stage, there were twenty students, ten on each side. James only knew three of them—maybe four and a half—but only had eyes for one. Sure, he should be there for Remus, but come on, it was _Lily Evans_ , and there was no way in hell James would let her see him, even though he would do anything to see her in action. 

He shifted lower into his seat to avoid being seen by anyone on stage. He could have said he was there for Remus if he was caught, but he had a feeling that he would be called out by his friend. Remus would definitely screw up James’ plan, asking him things like “If you’re just here for me, then why are you dressed like you're in a bad heist movie.” Stupid Remus—his stupid logic was bound to get him into trouble.

In hindsight, he realized he looked more suspicious than if he had just come with a sign emblazoned with _GO REMUS_ in glitter block letters. Not to worry, he had the next best disguise. Distracted by the minute details of his covert operation and by the sight of Severus Snape brazenly picking his nose, James didn’t even notice that the match had begun. A stout woman with her back towards him was reading a question into a microphone. 

“In this film, a woman who asks for something ‘light’ to read is given a leaflet on ‘Jewish sports legends.’ A child in this film realizes that Roger Murdock is actually the bask—”

She was interrupted by a buzz from the left side of the stage.

“Kareem Abdul‐Jabbar,” a player from Beauxbatons answered.

“That is correct. Leslie Nielsen co‐stars in this film as a doctor who remarks ‘don’t call me Shirley.’ Otto the inflatable auto‐pilot appears in—for 10 points—what 1980—”

Another buzz, this time on the right.

“Airplane,” Lily Evans said as if everyone knew that. James definitely didn’t. He made a mental note to watch it when he got home.

“Correct. Name this continent with the highest mountain at Vinson Massif in the Ellsworth Mountains. Norwegian Roald Amundsen was the first to reach the South Pole—”

“Antarctica.” Evans again.

“John Snow—”

The moderator was interrupted by a premature buzz from the visitor’s side. Everyone looked incredulously at the player. 

“Game of Thrones?” answered a Beauxbatons student, a blush creeping on his cheeks. Lily closed her eyes to hide an eye-roll—a look James recognized. A faint, good-natured chuckle rippled through the crowd.

“Incorrect.” A murmur of laughter spread through the crowd once again, and even Remus smiled. The moderator continued, “John Snow proved that a water pump on London’s Broad Street was the source of an 1854 epidemic of what disease that leads to diarrhea, and is caused by a germ in genus Vibrio?”

A beat of silence, then a buzz from the Warthogs. “Chlam—no, cholera. Cholera.”

“Correct.” 

The match went on in this way for what felt to James to be hours—possibly days—but it was worth every second to watch the gears turn in Evans’ head. 

“A 2017 Latino Victory Fund ad supporting this politician portrayed a pickup truck trying to run down minority children. After this man spoke in favor of Kathy Tran’s Repeal Act regarding third‐term abortion, he was accused of wanting to ‘execute a baby after birth.’ A photo from a 1984 med school yearbook may show this man in blackface, next to a person in a KKK outfit. For 10 points—name this governor of Virginia.”

 _Tea!_ James actually knew this one. A pregnant silence enveloped the room, which gave James enough time to ponder joining Academic League. He could be the designated sports buff! And he could impress Lily with his political knowledge, thanks to his mother having CNN on in the background at all times. They could even study together, and he would spend more time with her during lunch and after school because of practices. He could even maybe find out what exactly happened between her and Snape sophomore year. Amid his ponderings, James noticed Snape staring at him. He sunk down lower in his seat. _Shit._ Think of the devil and he shall notice, apparently. A buzz interrupted his thoughts. 

“Is it Northam?”

“Are you asking or answering?”

“Governor Ralph Northam, ma’am,”

“Correct. Now, this title entity distinguishes a man who is ‘coming to you on a dusty road’ in a Sam & Dave song. The player awakens in the Northern Undead Asylum in a video game whose title refers to these things. ‘Double consciousness’ is examined in a W. E. B. Du Bois book named for these things ‘of Black Folk.’ The poem _Invictus_ declares ‘I am the captain of’—for 10 points—what incorporeal entity contrasted with mind and body?”

Another buzz, this time from Remus.

“Souls,” he said, and 10 points were awarded to the home team. A satisfied glint in Lily’s eye almost made them more green, and the hint of a smirk caused a twang in James’ heart.

* * *

It took every fiber of Lily’s being to not storm off of the stage. She sat down on the couch in one of the wings—probably leftover from one of the sub-par plays the theater department put on. She took a deep breath, nursing the beginnings of a migraine. All her pleasantries and professionalism started to simmer off.

“Who was that weirdo lurking in the back?” With this inquiry, Snape revealed the reason for his silence throughout the course of the match. Of course he chose to focus on a random person, rather than actually contributing at all.

“What weirdo?” At least Frank Longbottom had some sense, focusing on the match that was responsible for securing their spot in the semifinals.

“The weirdo in the back, with the hoodie and the sunglasses? I think I’ve seen him at a game once or twice, but he usually falls asleep.”

“I didn’t notice a weirdo,” said Alice, another angel who had her priorities straight.

“He was there! I think he might be a spy, from another school, or—” Snape started again.

“Maybe if you weren't paying so much attention to the weirdo in the back, you could’ve answered a few questions, maybe even getting some right,” Lily’s frustration had reached a boiling point. She couldn’t stand his voice lately, but after his lack of even the slightest of effort, she was completely done. 

“That's not fair, I—”

“Made me carry the entire goddamn team today!” Lily interrupted him as she rose from the sofa.

Alice winced. Frank shrugged. Lily fumed. Snape stood dumbfounded. Remus recognized Lily’s trademark nostril flare.

“Well,'' Remus said while patting Lily’s shoulders, “At least we won. No doubt that we did better than fucking Beauxbatons.” Lily turned away from Snape, still scowling. Her brain was on fire. She took a deep breath. _Thank God for Remus._

“I think we all deserve a break, don’t we Lily?” suggested Remus, nudging his elbow into her. “Let’s go home.”

Lily grabbed her bag from a nearby chair. “You’re right, Remus. Some of us,” she said, while glaring at Snape, “should probably be studying so _we know the material next time.”_

Pointedly looking away from Snape to address the whole room, she sighed, announced, “Good job everyone. See you at practice next week,” and headed out towards the door. 

_Shit._ It was pouring outside. Her sister had the car today, but she really didn’t want to call Petunia. She instinctively felt around the outside of her backpack, but she knew she didn’t bring her umbrella. She closed her eyes, swallowed her pride, and pulled out her phone to ring her sister. No answer. She tried texting her.

_hey its raining. can you pick me up?_

Seven minutes had passed when Lily’s phone finally lit up.

_cant w vernon rn_

Fucking cunt.

Lily sighed, raising her bag over her head and walked out into the rain. _Fucking perfect._ Her mind was swarmed. Why did she have to live so far away from school? Why was her sister such a goddamn bitch? Within a few minutes of walking, her bag was almost completely soaked through, and her hair utterly drenched.

Lost in her thoughts, Lily was startled when a shitty Land Rover slowed down to her left. The headlights forced her to put her arm in front of her eyes. She was afraid to even look up; the last thing she needed to deal with was some misogynistic asshole and his unoriginal innuendos, featuring wet as a pun. 

“Alright, Evans?” said a familiar voice.

Lily put her arm down and turned towards the driver. _James fucking Potter_ , the bane of her existence. She turned away to keep walking. “Fine, thank you very much.” James slowed down, driving alongside her.

“I can see that,” he answered. She kept walking. He honked at her. Typical asshat. 

“C’mon Evans, just get in the car.”

“No thanks.”

“I can take you home, you know you’ll get sick walking.”

She spun on her heel and stomped up to the passenger window. He stopped the car. “You think I'm going to willingly reveal my residence to you?” She knew he had had a point about the sick thing, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. If she kept the hostility up she could walk home in peace.

“Alright Evans, how about this—I pull over. You take my football helmet, put it on my head backward, and help me into the passenger’s seat. I give you my keys, and you drive _yourself_ home, nice and dry, without revealing the location of your home to me. Is that alright with you?”

If she weren’t in such a sour mood, she would have laughed. Maybe he wasn't trying to be an ass right now. Honestly, her day couldn’t get any worse, so there wasn’t any harm in a free ride. Even from James Potter. For the second time that day, she closed her eyes and swallowed her pride.

“That’s not necessary. Just take me home.”

* * *

_Finally._

For the first time ever, James had won an argument with Lily Evans. Lily opened his side door and climbed in. The leather seat squeaked underneath her as she buckled up. James took one look at her inside his car and winced. The poor girl was dripping everywhere and looked miserable. She hardly seemed the same girl who tore the Beauxbaton team a new asshole just 30 minutes prior. In fact, in his entire memory since they’d met in fifth grade, he didn't think he’d ever seen her like this. It made his heart sore. Maybe everyone—everyone meaning Sirius and Remus and sometimes Peter—was right; maybe he had no right to say he was in love with Lily Evans when he barely knew her. He shook his head—he’d reevaluate his feelings for Lily Evans for the millionth time after he dropped her off at home.

“Here, you can put your address in my phone’s GPS,” James offered, handing her his phone. She took it silently, and their fingers brushed for the briefest moment. James’ heart jumped into his throat, reopening the case of Potter’s Feelings Towards Evans in his brain; if he wasn’t in love with her, then why did shit like that happen? She finished typing her address in and handed it back to him, bringing him back to reality. He put his phone on the magnetic holder, turned on his blinker, looked over his left shoulder, and pulled away from the sidewalk. 

He glanced at his phone and realized her house was at least 20 minutes away, and they were _driving_. Why did she think she could walk home, alone, _in the rain_ , when she lived that far away? She could have been kidnapped. He was lucky that he acted like a total creep, coming to her match, and even luckier that he decided to grab some In-N-Out after and was able to catch her walking home. Speaking of his In-N-Out, he wanted some. Unfortunately, he had moved it to the dash from the passenger seat to make room for Lily. He thought about reaching over to grab a fry but decided against it. Instead, he said, “Would you like some fries?” She shook her head, slowly and silently. He looked away and pretended not to notice her take a few in his peripheral vision.

After Siri prompted him to turn left at this light, he slowed to a stop and turned to look at her. She shook her head, without a word or a look in his direction. Take Me Out by Franz Fernidad played faintly from his speakers. “Your face seems to match this fine weather we’re having,” his mouth said, acting without consulting his brain. _Dumbass, you just called her ugly, this is NOT how you make things less awkward, and definitely not how you get her to hate you less._

She turned her head towards him. _Holy shit,_ her eyes were beautiful, more so than normal. Glossy, even. She opened her mouth to speak, then decided against it, putting her lips back together. She furrowed her eyebrows and turned her head away from him, seemingly to study the intersection ahead.

“What happened?” James immediately regretted his words. How invasive was that? She hardly agreed to allow him to know where she lives, and now he’s inquiring about her innermost thoughts and feelings. “Shit, sorry, you don’t have to answer that. Really. I’m so sorry, I’m just not used to seeing you, uh, like this, and I just—”

“No, it's fine, don’t worry about it.” 

James swallowed and nodded. “I don’t have to kick anyone’s ass, do I?”

Something almost resembling a laugh escaped her lips and she responded with, “No, you don’t.”

He nodded, not willing to ruin the progress he had made by prying any further. After about a minute of unbearable silence, Lily began to speak. “Sometimes, people don’t consider other people, or their feelings or whatever, you know?” 

James tore his eyes from the road for a second to look at her, surprised she was speaking to—no, _confiding_ in him. He nodded silently. He was not entirely sure what she was getting at, but he wanted to show his support regardless. It seemed like a true enough statement, after all. 

“They just, fucking, act how they act, have no regard for the effects, don’t even care about what that effect is on other people who have to inhabit the world with them. All they think about is themselves, and cannot accept that they can be at fault for something, and feel like they can blame others for everything.” She spun in her seat to face him, folding her feet underneath her to match his eye line and started waving her hands. “And guess who ends up doing the work? Me! Every goddamn time! Like I don’t have enough shit to do, from cheer politics to McGonagall’s labs to studying the randomest shit for League, do you even know that cats can be allergic to humans? Because I do! And I am just so _tired,_ but I don’t even get a break when I come home because my sister antagonizes me to no end and then fucks her boyfriend all night! We share a _wall_ , James. So I get no sleep and I have to hear them go at it like they’re jackrabbits! I just want to sleep uninterrupted for once, so I don’t have to sleep during lunch, so I can actually go to practice for League and not want to kill myself when we get to a match, because apparently if I’m not there, no one practices, and I have to carry the whole team. And now I’m soaked,” she said, voice cracking. “And my damn socks are all wet, I just—”

James’s mind went blank, stopped the car at the red light, turned to the side and kissed her. 

A million thoughts flew into his mind.

 _Fuck. I just kissed Lily Evans. Scratch that, I’m kissing Lily Evans_. _I should stop, right? Yeah, I’ll stop._ James pulled away from Lily, glasses askew and cheeks red. 

_Well, there goes any hope of friendship. Nice going, James._

* * *

She looked at him, the tears no longer pressing behind her eyes. His glasses were askew, and for the first time, she considered using the word endearing to describe his appearance. She swallowed the lump in her throat and it vanished. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Do that again.”

“What?” 

She grabbed his hoodie and pulled him towards her, hesitating, her eyes focusing on his. They traveled down to his lips, kissing him first this time. He deepened the kiss, sliding his arms around her waist, as far as the seat belt allowed him, and she circled her arms around his neck. The thoughts that had formerly swarmed in her brain now melted away, and for the first time in months, she felt some relief. She could feel James smile against her mouth, his hands gripping her waist, and she wanted nothing more than to remove her seatbelt, so she could slide into his seat, up against him and move her hands into his soft hair and—

_HONK._

Lily felt James startle against her. To her dismay, he moved his warm hands from her hips to the steering wheel, replacing their bliss with reality. He began to drive again, leaving Lily alone, cold in her seat with her thoughts. The swarm was replaced, her brain now abuzz, but she didn’t hate that. She did not hate it at all. Nor did she miss the feeling of James Potter’s soft lips against hers. Not at all.

All too soon she began to recognize the houses in her neighborhood. After having their arrival announced at her house, Lily lifted herself and her bag up off the seat to leave his car. As soon as she was about to step out the door, she felt a calloused hand on her shoulder. She turned in her seat to look at him.

“Hey, listen, Lily, I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me, and I just wanted to let you know that I’m—”

James had a difficult time finishing his sentence when she closed the distance between them and locked their lips. After James relaxed, Lily released him with a “Don’t be sorry,” and looked into his eyes, noticing for the first time that they had a bit of gold in them.

James cleared his throat, and with a hoarse voice said, “I’ll uh, text you when I get home then?”

“That’s generally what happens,” she told him with a smile. James flushed red and fiddled with his glasses. She took this opportunity to get out of the car. He gazed at her through the open window with a look in his eyes that she had never noticed before.

“Guess I’ll be off then.”

“I guess you will be.” 

“Alright then. Bye Evans.” And with that, he pulled out of her driveway and drove away, almost hitting a trash can. Lily stifled a laugh. With a wave, she bounced into her house, running into her room. Her emotions were all over the place, but she knew she was riding a new type of high. She emptied out her bag, hung it to dry, and took out a set of warm pajamas to change into after her shower. 

Before she got into the tub, however, she checked her phone for any notifications. 

There were two.

_reached home_

_hope you’re well :)_

Lily bit back a grin.


End file.
